Need help!!

[subarru 10+ year member]

So i currently have 2 12inch Infinity's powered by a kicker zx 500.1 that i picked up on craigslist a few years back, and they rock. i mean they are beyond my expectations, but i wanna upgrade. I was looking at getting 2 kicker comp 15's. First off, how are those speakers? and secondly, what kind of amp would i use to power those bad boys? i dont wanna spend more then 500 on an amp. i can get the speakers from amazon for 85 each. just let me know what you guys think and if you can guide me in the right direction!

Click to read more...

 

[Renzone3 10+ year member]

Whats your budget on the subs?And why did you land on kicker subs?

 

[subarru 10+ year member]

i came to kicker subs cause i have a kicker amp right now and it works beautifuly. And my price range on the subs would probably be around 250.

 

[Renzone3 10+ year member]

This is a little over your price range but you can get 2 SSA Dcon 15's for 138 a piece or you can get the 12's for a little cheaper.They'll sound better than the comps.You can also look around in the classfields and see if you can find a good deal on some subs if you are considering used.Also what kinda amp and power are you looking for?

 

[subarru 10+ year member]

money isnt to big of an issue, hopefully i will sell my old ones for around 200 plus pay day i will be fine. As for the amp, that was my biggest question, i dont know much about them or good brands. if i got 2 of the 15's you suggested, what would power them so they were loud and powerful? (what a lame question)

 

[Renzone3 10+ year member]

The amp you are running now should be sufficient.The Dcons are rated for 300wrms a piece so thats 600wrms total but im sure they can take a little more than rated.If you're looking to upgrade your amp on the other hand you should look into the zx750.1,they usually run for about 230-250$ online.How they sound and how loud they get is soley dependent on enclosure.

 

[subarru 10+ year member]

so i could either keep my amp and get the dcons and i wouldn't be sacrificing quality or risk of over using / over heating? and waht about if i wanted to run the 2 kicker 15s? could i run the kicker 500.1 on those? or would i need to do a upgrade?

 

[Renzone3 10+ year member]

They're the same rms rating so give or take they'll be fine on your current amp, but IMO the dcons will sound much better but its really up to you.Also what kind of enclosure are you using sealed or ported?

 

[subarru 10+ year member]

right now i am using a sealed box. it is just what it came with. I have thought about installing a port on it but i dont really know the advantages.

 

[Renzone3 10+ year member]

Please dont port your current box build a new one.Ported/vented will get louder than sealed boxes,but sealed boxes have a flatter response which is more SQ(sound quality).You can get good SQ with a ported box also if built correctly.I'm not that good at explaining all the differences between the two.Maybe someone will chime in and explain it to you better than i can.

 

[raptor727 10+ year member]

If your wanting to "get loud" go ported pay a little cash have someone on here design a box for ya, as far as the amp goes i would go as big as your budget will let you because it sounds like you have the audio bug also bigger is always better you can just turn down the gain on the amp if you have too much power that way when you upgrade subs again you already have a big enough amp.. as far as subs go look into obsidian insanely cheap and from what i hear they are great subs

 

[Fiendstolemyamp 10+ year member]

Which Infinity subs do you have?

 

[daboyfrumdabx 10+ year member]

I'm a little upset that no one has asked so far what kind of vehicle this is in. We don't even know if you have enough room to run 2 15"s in a proper enclosure.

 

[Renzone3 10+ year member]

I'm a little upset that no one has asked so far what kind of vehicle this is in. We don't even know if you have enough room to run 2 15"s in a proper enclosure.

Yup,i forgot to ask.I knew i was missing something.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif

 

[quackhead 10+ year member]

right now i am using a sealed box. it is just what it came with. I have thought about installing a port on it but i dont really know the advantages.

Port = LOUDER

When you use sealed, you are only getting sound from the sub moving in one direction, say the forward motion of the cone. the rear motion of the cone is lost in the box... some subs are better suited for sealed, some for vented...alot go either way. Accoustic suspension (sealed) is sometimes preferred for the natural response, higher power handling and smaller size(depending on the driver used). Vented(ported) is usually preferred due to increased output and better efficiency(less power required for desired output) because you utilize both the forward and rearward motion of the cone...In a vented box, the port is tuned to a certain frequency (commonly the 30hz to 35hz range)

The port is determined by the box internal volume. I would recommend determining the inside volume of your box and see if the sub you want will fit in it as a ported box....usually a sub will require a little larger box for ported than sealed...but if the stars line up right, you might be able to cut a hole and drop in a Aero Port for a few bucks...that would be a big "if"...What works best is finding the subs you want and build or purchase the enclosure that suits them the best.

The following image is one of my subs in a ported box. You can see where the sub output falls off and the port takes over... just an example of how it works.